The Funder Safeguarding Collaborative is a global network of grant-making organisations driving action to create safer organisational practices and cultures.
FSC is the only philanthropic support organisation dedicated to safeguarding. We create spaces where funders can share learning and provide bespoke technical support to improve safeguarding practice in grant-making organisations and in the organisations they fund.
FSC offers three distinct membership levels so that our diverse community of funders can choose the level that best meets their needs.
ACCESS
ACCESS Members allows you to find out more before joining our network. You will receive regular newsletters about FSC events, safeguarding resources and sector updates, and can access our initial safeguarding assessment service to help you identify your safeguarding needs.
CONNECT
CONNECT Members can access a broad range of resources and learning opportunities to help them strengthen their safeguarding practice. These include:
In-person and online Peer Learning Circles where you can meet with and learn from safeguarding leads in other trusts and foundations.
Webinars and other online discussion forums covering all aspects of safeguarding in grant-making organisations.
Access to the FSC member only online community where you can dialogue, post questions and receive sector updates from peers.
Access to FSC’s online resource library containing curated manuals, research and guidance on safeguarding, as well as good practice examples of funder policies and frameworks.
Regular newsletters about FSC events, safeguarding resources and sector updates.
SUPPORT
SUPPORT Members can access all the resources and learning opportunities offered at connect level plus up to 10 hours of Anytime Support from the FSC team. You can choose when and how to use this support, but this could include:
Support to review your safeguarding policy, procedures or grant-making practices.
Check-ins to discuss any questions or challenges that may arise.
Online sessions to build awareness and improve understanding among your team.
Additional benefits
FSC members can also access:
Option to commission additional technical support and training via consultancy contracts. Due to the high level of demand for FSC’s specialist support, this is only available to CONNECT and SUPPORT members.
Priority access to FSC’s paid training courses, allowing you to secure your place before others outside our network.
Details of our membership fees and more information on membership benefits can be accessed here or you can email us at fsc_info@fundersafeguardingcollaborative.org and member of the team would be happy to chat to you.
All income generated by membership fees is reinvested in the network, helping us to achieve our vision of a world where safety and wellbeing are at the heart of every organisation.
Read this testimonial from one of our first ever members about how FSC’s support support was instrumental in embedding safeguarding practices in their work.
Interested in joining us?
To join, click here. We will arrange a call with a member of the FSC team and then ask you to sign a membership agreement.
Membership is open to private, corporate, public, and community foundations and charitable trusts. To join FSC, organisations must fulfil the following criteria:
Grant-making is a core component of your organisational mission.
Intermediary funders (fiscal sponsors, grant-making public charities, community foundations, and philanthropy advisors) must dedicate at least 50% of their budget to grant-making and/or capacity building support to the organisations they fund.
You do not need to have well developed safeguarding measures in place but you will be asked to provide information about your safeguarding and commit to positive action to improve safeguarding practice.
Funder networks and grant-making affinity groups can also join FSC. Membership benefits are restricted to your team but we will support you to raise awareness among your members who are welcome to join FSC.
Membership is not open to bi-lateral or government funders but we aim to work closely with government stakeholders to share learning and promote best practice.
Interested in investing to strengthen safeguarding?
FSC is fuelled by funders who share our mission to create safer organisational cultures and practices around the world. We provide opportunities for members to invest in research and pilot projects to generate new knowledge and strengthen the evidence base on what works to keep people and communities safe.
We welcome discussions with funders who are interested in joining our members who are already advancing safeguarding through their investments.
Our invest members
Embedding safeguarding with a support membership from FSC
One of FSC’s first ever members is a grant-making organisation working to tackle violence against children globally. With a deep belief in the importance of keeping people safe, the organisation took up a SUPPORT membership with FSC in March 2021 with the main aim of finalising its organisational safeguarding policy and ensuring safe practices were embedded across all aspects of their work.
How did FSC help?
Policy development
FSC supported the organisation to finalise its first ever safeguarding policy and to ensure that the core team, consultants and advisory board members were aware of and committed to implementing their safeguarding responsibilities.
Implementation support
FSC provides on-going support to the team as they implement their safeguarding policy. This includes support to resolve any challenges which may emerge, and the development of tools or guidance to assist with implementation.
Policy review
As part of their commitment to continual learning and improvement, FSC is supporting the Safeguarding Lead with a one-year review of their safeguarding policy to ensure the policy remains relevant and realistic.
Learning and development
Being a member at FSC opened the door for the organisation to engage in learning around other safeguarding-related matters, through discussions with FSC and exchanging learning with other funders in the FSC network.
The outcomes
The organisation felt they were able to jump relatively quickly from having no policy to having a cutting-edge policy that works well for them. and they have been able to create space for and hold critical conversations on safeguarding with their team, Advisory Board, as well as grantee partners. They feel positive about having raised the profile of safeguarding in their work.
We have constant and immediate support from FSC about any questions or concerns we have about a safeguarding issue or our policy. The best thing about FSC is that its approach is always about the organisation and the context. It has to work for the organisation. We find this extremely valuable and feel lucky that we were amongst the very first FSC members.”
The training, support and consultancy have been excellent and invaluable. It has helped us grow in confidence and to develop/implement our safeguarding policy and grant making practices.
FSC member
Some of these questions [raised by others] can be like an early warning system – we hear about issues that we hadn’t even considered, and it helps us get prepared.
FSC is fuelled by funders who share our mission to create safer organisational cultures and practices around the world. We provide opportunities for members to invest in research and pilot projects to generate new knowledge and strengthen the evidence base on what works to keep people and communities safe.
